John (1841) and Hulda (Jenkins) Handley: Census information showed that John and Hulda had several children:

Archy (1864 - there is that name again)
Barbara (1869) married Alford Clement (Clem) Yauger
Ellinnes (1873)
Stanley (1886)

There could possibly be more children. The 1900 Census (Butler County Ohio) shows a Gillie Hanley (no "d", but such is a common type of error census takers make; ten years later on the 1910 census the "d" is back in) born August 1872, and living in Morgan Township, Butler County, Ohio with his wife Sadie, widowed mother Hulda, and brother Stanley. John Handley, who appears with his wife and children on the 1880 census, has died between 1880 and 1900 (there is no 1890 census).

The child Ellinnes Handley on the 1880 census (son of John and Hulda) has to be the adult Gillie Handley on the 1900 census. The age is the same for both. I don't know what his correct name might be. Possibly Gillie was a nick name? Or maybe his correct name was something like Gillinnes, which the census taker messed up?

Back to John Handley (1841). Where did he come from? There is a John Handley, born 1841 in your family records. He is the son of Robert Handley (216.3), but this family went to Indiana, and this John Handley marries someone other than Hulda Jenkins, and eventually went to Nebraska and died there.

Going back in the census records to 1860, I found a John E. Handley in Morgan Township, Butler County, Ohio of age 18 (good enough for a birth date of 1841) living with a Lavina Morgan. John is described as a "farm laborer" and Lavina Morgan is described as a "farm lady"?? The 1860 census does not give relationships, just individuals in the same household.

A look 10 years earlier at the 1850 census shows John Handley, age 9 (good for 1841) living in Morgan Township with Thomas Morgan, age 50, and Lavina Morgan, age 41. My conclusion is that most likely Lavina Morgan is John Handley's mother and Thomas Morgan is his step father. But who is John Handley's father?

Your Handley Family information lists the children of James and Isabella Handley as

Archey, George, James, Robert, Isabel, and Jane.

Lets look at Archey Handley.

Archey Handley was born 1789 and died in 1842 per your family information. His wife's name was Rebecca, who was born about 1790. She died in 1839. Your family information says that they are both buried in the George Cemetery and gives their death dates and ages. Your records do not indicate they had any children.

I looked for Archey Handley, Morgan Township, starting with the 1820 census. Until 1850, only the name of the head of the family (normally the husband) is given; other males and females are indicated in an age group. Archey Handley is found on the 1820 census, age range 26-44 (he should be 31, which fits). He has an un-named wife of age range 26-45 (she should be about 29-30, which fits). There are two other males living in the home, one age 16-26, which is too old to be their son, and one under 10. The one under 10 could be a son?

On the 1830 census for Morgan Township, only Archey and his un-named wife are living in their family. Archey's age range is 40-49, which fits (he should be 41). His wife's age range is 30-39. She should be about 39. Archey's wife Rebecca dies in 1839 before the 1840 census. We don't know what happened to the male child under 10 of ten years earlier. If he was a son, he has probably died as he would be between 10 and 19 years old now and not likely to be head of a family of his own. So what do we find for Archey's family in 1840?

On the 1840 census Archey is in the age group 50-59 (he should be 51, which fits). Rebecca has died, but there is a female living with him in the age group 30-39, somewhat younger than Rebecca and young enough to have children. The Lavina Morgan mentioned above would be 31, which fits.

Archey died in 1842. John Handley was born in 1841. If Archey and Lavina are the parents of John, John's father died within a year or so of his birth. Lavina Handley (still young) has 8 years to marry again and be found on the 1850 census as Lavina Morgan, wife of Thomas Morgan, with a 9 year old John Handley in the home.

Well, circumstantial evidence maybe. One more thing. Lets look at who the neighbors of Archey Handley and Thomas Morgan were. Their neighbors would be those listed on the various census lists just before and after themselves. In 1840 when Archey was living with what appears to be a second and younger wife, two of his neighbors were Samuel DeArmond [more] and Catharine George [more]. In 1850 the neighbors of Thomas and Lavina Morgan were Samuel DeArmond and Catharine George. Lavina was living in the same place in 1850 with her husband Thomas Morgan as Archey was living in 10 years earlier in 1840 with a "younger woman". Couple this with the presence of John Handley (1841) and I think its clear that John Handley (1841) is the son of Archey Handley (1789), and John named one of his sons Archy after the father he never knew.

Is anyone available to check the Butler County marriage records? If Archey Handley and Lavina "unknown maiden name" were married in Butler County, there should be a record of it.